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These cards are designed for frequent shoppers of Ulta makeup and beauty supplies, offering points every time you buy. If you get one of these cards you’ll also end up with an Ultamate Rewards Membership.

The Ultamate Rewards membership comes with 1 point per $1 at Ulta Beauty, and these cards provide an extra point. So you’ll be getting 2 points per $1 at Ulta Beauty and ulta.com.

There are no annual fees on these cards, but you have a chance of getting a much lower interest rate with the MasterCard than the regular Credit Card.

Card Rating: 2 Out Of 5 Stars

We give both of these cards 2 out of 5 Stars because although they provide good rewards and benefits at Ulta, many people have reported issues with billing and customer support that have caused serious problems.

You’ll be able to earn quite a few points with them, especially if you take advantage of the extra point opportunities. There are also discounts and other offers that are exclusive for Ultamate Rewards members. The APR’s are pretty high, but you can avoid them and there are no annual fees to worry about, so the cards can be free to use.

Should you be using one of these cards to get more savings and offers from Ulta Beauty? Keep reading to find out.

Where Can I Use My Ultamate Rewards Credit Card?

The Ultamate Rewards Credit Card can only be used at Ulta Beauty and www.ulta.com.

The Ultamate Rewards Mastercard can be used anywhere Mastercard is accepted.

The Rewards

Ultamate Rewards Credit Card

1 extra point per $1 spent at Ulta Beauty and Ulta.com (1 point from the basic membership, 1 point from the card)

Up to 5X point offers for signing up for email updates

Points expire 1 year after they are earned

Ultamate Rewards Mastercard

1 extra point per $1 spent at Ulta Beauty and ulta.com (1 point from the basic membership, 1 point from the card)

1 point for every $3 spent outside of Ulta Beauty

Up to 5X point offers for signing up for email updates

Points expire 1 year after they are earned

Take note that your points will expire after a year, so be sure to use them up in time. You can extend the life of your points by spending $450 per year and obtaining Platinum Status (see Benefits below).

You’ll be able to redeem your points to pay for purchases at Ulta, in the following increments only:

100 points = $3.00 off

250 points = $8.00 off

500 points = $17.50 off

750 points = $30.00 off

1,000 points = $50.00 off

2,000 points = $125.00 off

So the more points you have, the more they’ll be worth. This is a bit different than most credit card reward points, which usually have the same value no matter how many you have. These cards reward you for saving up points and using them all at once.

You won’t be able to redeem points for salon services.

The Benefits

Both cards provide the following perks. As you can see, if you make use of these benefits you could save quite a bit of money each year.

Perks

20% Off Your First Purchase

Get a 20% off coupon for your first purchase at Ulta Beauty. Must be opted into Ulta Beauty emails to receive it.

Birthday Gift

Members receive a coupon during their birthday month, which can be redeemed at an Ulta Beauty store for a gift.

Member-Exclusive Offers

Receive up to $75 in exclusive offers each year.

Member-Exclusive Magazines

Receive up to 15 exclusive Ulta magazines each year.

Platinum Status

Spend $450 in one year to earn Platinum Status, which includes a 25% point bonus, no point expiration, and other benefits.

The Costs & Fees

Card

Annual Fee

Purchase APR

Balance Transfer APR

Cash Advance APR

Ultamate Rewards Credit Card

None

26.24% *Variable

N/A

N/A

Ultamate Rewards MasterCard

None

17.24%, 23.24%, or 26.24% *Variable

27.24% *Variable

27.24% *Variable

Card

Balance Transfer Fee

Cash Advance Fee

Foreign Transaction Fee

Ultamate Rewards Credit Card

N/A

N/A

None

Ultamate Rewards MasterCard

3% ($10 min)

3% ($10 min)

3%

Card

Penalty APR

Late Fee

Returned Payment Fee

Ultamate Rewards Credit Card

See Terms

See Terms

See Terms

Ultamate Rewards MasterCard

See Terms

Up to $37

Up to $37

Neither of these cards have an annual fee, but there are a few differences to be aware of.

As you can see, you’ll end up with a high interest rate automatically with the regular store card (but remember you can avoid interest by paying your balance off each billing period).

You’ll be able to use the Mastercard for balance transfers and cash advances, while you can’t with the store card. But it’s not designed for those kinds of purposes, so you should stick to using it as a way to earn rewards at Ulta, where you’ll get the most points.

The Bottom Line

They provide decent rewards, but you’ll definitely want to sign up for email updates. These will inform you about special point days when you can earn more, and you’ll also find other opportunities for discounts.

So you’ll definitely want to keep an eye on those emails, and take advantage of as many offers as you can.

Remember that your points will expire after 1 year, and you also get more value from them the more you have. So to get the most from these cards you’ll generally want to earn as many points as you can, as quickly as possible.

But if you get to Platinum Status by spending $450 per year, those points won’t expire. Then you can save up your points for longer to get a lot of value from them.

These cards have no annual fees, so they should be basically free to use. Just pay off your balance in full every billing period to avoid interest charges, and the points you get will be pure profit.

The responses below are not provided or commissioned by bank advertisers. Responses have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by bank advertisers. It is not the bank advertisers' responsibility to ensure all posts and/or questions are answered.

Carolina Guillen

I would highly recommend you STAY AWAY from this credit card. I tried to pay multiple times and they honestly make it really hard for you to pay what you owe. I am not sure if they do it on purpose just to make your fee late and charge you the late fee plus the $9.00 fee of talking to a representative. Even if you talk to a representative to make sure your payment went through, it doesn’t guarantee they will submit the information correctly and on top of that they charge you the $27 return fee. Other companies provide the representative help for free, and even allow you to pay in store. It seems that Ulta just wants your money at all times, leaving the customer’s happiness, peace of mind, & satisfaction at the bottom of the list.

KC

No idea why they act like robots and cannot grasp and made a final decision, denying an application just because “address could not be verified.” Lives change and people move. All it would have taken them was a quick email or phone call; it is 2019. I was even being proactive and called when my application needed to be reviewed to see what I could verify/clarify. Was told to wait for the letter that would take 7-10 days. Waited TWO weeks for it in the mail to find out I was denied due to non-matched address and to reapply in 30 days. Called and tried to explain that both addresses were valid, but they said the decision had already been made and basically just re-read the letter to me. No thanks; I will not waste another hard inquiry for such an unfair decision and this is not a company I would like to work with. Like I said, it is 2019. I don’t understand the snail mail or lack of people skills in understanding the difference between a permanent versus a mailing address. This is a blessing in disguise to prevent future headaches. Whew. Dodged that one. Just sad my score got hit with such a ridiculous inquiry.

Brendan Harkness

Issuers of retail store cards tend to have poor customer support and outdated systems compared to other issuers, unfortunately. We get a lot of complaints about Comenity Bank, the issuer of these cards. At least hard inquiries generally have a fairly small impact on your credit.

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Responses to comments are not provided or commissioned by the bank advertiser. Responses have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by the bank advertiser. It is not the bank advertiser's responsibility to ensure all posts and/or questions are answered.